


Two-Faced

by paperwhirlpool



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Ace Double Trouble, Aro Double Trouble, Aroace Double Trouble, Aromantic Double Trouble, Asexual Double Trouble, Basically just Double Trouble backstory, Character Development, Crimson Waste, DT Has A Fluffy rabbit friend, Double Trouble Has a Friend, Gen, Hey Maybe Princesses Can't Run The Whole Planet, Horde Clones - Freeform, I love them and wanted to give them characterization not just based around doing bad things, In Universe, It Will Take A While But The Clones Show Up, Not action-heavy, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Seaworthy, Swearing, There will be scenes with detainment-camp parallels so be aware of that please, What Happens To The Horde, mostly canon-compliant, the horde
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28807728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperwhirlpool/pseuds/paperwhirlpool
Summary: Double Trouble prided themself on being the perfect mercenary. No qualms, no loyalty, and not a single ounce of respect for basic decency. But their work has landed them on the Princess Alliance's bad side now that the war is over, and they need to hole up with a friend for a while until things settle down. But the longer DT stays in hiding, the more they start to question whether they still meet the requirements for the perfect mercenary after all.
Relationships: Double Trouble & Original Male Character
Kudos: 6





	1. Teamaster

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters are short, like my patience. Constructive criticism is appreciated, rudeness is not. Hope you enjoy :)

The cafe was a cool, quiet place, carved so deep into the rock of the Crimson Waste that very little of the desert's oppressive heat reached past the door. It hardly seemed a part of the world outside; the shouts of traders were replaced by customers' quiet murmurs, and a rudimentary sound system played gentle string music instead of bawdy bandit tunes. Blue lanterns lined the rock walls, completing the removal of this enclave from its unforgiving environment.  
Overseeing this peaceful domain was a man of the mammalian variety, leaned against a wall behind the front counter. He looked part rabbit, part human, with short pink fur and a nose that twitched with boredom. He was clad in a dark tunic in the slitted Crimson Wastes style. He looked over his little oasis in satisfaction. It had taken years of hard work and the end of the Universe War, but his restaurant was taking off. A newer side to the Crimson Wastes had emerged recently, a softer side fueled by the influx of Brightmoon tourists: just what his business needed to grow.  
The door of the shop swung open, and heads turned with mild curiosity towards the new arrival. A young human woman, light-skinned and with a tangle of black hair falling into her eyes, stepped into the room. The sight of her red-and-white shirt made shoulders tense around the room. That was the kind worn by Horde soldiers. There was no Horde now, and no war for a soldier to fight, but the war was still fresh in everyone's mind; no-one had escaped unscathed.  
The young woman bowed, her left arm swept in front of her. "Hareold the teamaster!" She exclaimed, bouncing excitedly to the counter. "It's so great to finally meet you! Well, it will be great, you don't know me so I guess we haven't met yet, but-" She stopped herself. "But I've heard so much! Is it true your techniques came from the First Ones? That they learned it from watching the stars? Are the legends true? Are you hiring?" She stared at him, green eyes wide.  
Hareold shrugged noncommittally, aware of every eye in the room on him. "I'm interviewing, yes. And I don't know of any legends. Were you interested in an interview?"  
The woman nodded earnestly, succeeding at flipping even more hair into her face. "I'd be honored to study below the teamaster," she said in a reverent tone. Laying it on a little thick there, Hareold thought, but he held his tongue. Unlocking the side of the counter, he walked to the front door, locking the mechanism that allowed new people in. He then turned to the tables, and his very-obviously-snooping patrons. "We're closed. Finish your drinks and leave. If you steal or break anything, I will find you." He liked to turn that Crimson Wastes charm on now and again.  
Opening a door in the back of the shop and leading his interviewee through it (and locking it behind himself, just for good measure), Hareold walked past storage rooms and into a small living room of the same earth as the rest of the establishment. A plush blue carpet covered the floor, and several cushioned Brightmoon chairs were arranged in a semicircle on it, facing a large darkened screen. He collapsed onto the nearest chair and began undoing the straps of his sandals. "DT, you idiot," he complained. "I had just gotten the Princess Alliance off my back for 'potential First One's tech misuse.' Now I'm gonna end up dealing with a whole new set of rumors."  
His guest blinked, then chuckled. Fading briefly into a dark, starlit shape, they shifted and stretched, becoming taller, greener, and considerably more stylish.  
"Do you conduct all of your interviews like this?" Double Trouble asked in fake shock. "No wonder you don't have any employees." They settled onto a chair across from him, smirking like the winner of a chess game.  
"Welcome back, asshole." Hareold shook his head, grinning. "You haven't changed a bit."


	2. Chapter 2

Hareold had changed, Double Trouble reflected, inspecting their comfortable surroundings. The last time they'd seen him— what, three years ago now?—Hareold's business had been a dusty tent pushed up against the Valley of the Lost's rock, with no seating and certainly no doors to lock. There was nothing of value in it, either— except his kettle, of course, but _that_ was a secret unlikely to get out. Now, their friend seemed to have planted roots, as unpalatable as that seemed.

"Tell me, bunny," they said, "what gave it away? I thought I'd gotten the hapless enthusiasm down perfectly."

"It _was_ the enthusiasm, DT. You think there's any _happy_ Horde soldiers out here? Maybe what's-her-name who's the 'protector of Etheria' or something, but she was a turncoat. Most of them are terrified, confused or paralyzed with guilt. They're not popping into tea shops and asking to apprentice below a master."

_My sample size was_ _a little small,_ Double Trouble reflected.

"Mostly, it's that nobody spreads rumors about my tea. Gifts from the First Ones? Really?" Hareold sighed. "I _wish_ people would rhapsodize about my teas like that. But even the Brightmooners don't get that emotional about their beverages."

"It's the Crimson Waste. Nobody gets emotional about _anything."_ Double Trouble shifted, forming into a muscular figure with light blue skin. "There is no feeling in the Crimson Waste," they intoned. "Only suffering, and endless fights." They brightened. "Hey, I see why you like it here."

"This is why nobody likes you, DT."

"Can't talk. Must fight cactus."

* * *

"In all seriousness," Hareold said after they'd shifted back, "why come back out here? There's been more traffic from the kingdoms, but still not a lot of appetite for your kind of... _theatrics._ "

"Yes, but there's considerably fewer princesses. I heard Huntara was out helping the Alliance while She-Ra went on a space quest or something, and figured I'd visit an old friend." They flashed their most winning smile.

Hareold blinked. "You're avoiding _princesses?_ You upset the _Princess Alliance?_ I didn't even know they _had_ a bad side." His eyes widened. "What the _hell_ did you do?"

"Nothing terrible! I took a couple of jobs during wartime. One was with the PA, one was with the Horde. Don't really feel like running into either employer." _True, at least._

Hareold looked less than convinced, and Double Trouble decided to bring out the wheedling. "Bunny, _really?_ Where's your trust in our friendship? If it was that bad, I wouldn't have come here and put you in danger." _Also true,_ they realized. 

He sighed. "Fine, let's say I believe you. Why are you here? Other than to see my smiling face, of course."

"I think I want to get a real acting job. No more spywork for now— it's far too stressful for me." A lie, and both of them knew it. DT thrived on stress like a cactus on sand. "And you have to be so unfailingly _nice_ to your employer as a spy. They always expect you'll become _friends._ " At least, Catra had— but this wasn't about Catra. They had finished that job. There was nothing more to think about.

"And I suppose that after waltzing in here, upsetting my customers and putting me in danger of PA investigations, you want a place to stay?"

They grinned. "Well, if you're _offering~"_

"You have to work at the cafe, at least part time. And if you get into shit I won't cover for you." This was undoubtedly the best thing about Hareold: he'd never danced around an issue. Not a trait DT shared, but one they could appreciate.

"If I get into— still no trust? After all we've been through together?"

"All we've been through together is _why_ I don't trust you. Do you accept my terms or not?"

 _No help for it,_ they supposed. "Yes, of course. And— it's good to be back." _True again. Damn, am I getting soft?_ The two shook hands, pink fur against pale green skin.

"I missed you too, DT," Hareold said. "To be honest, someone needs to mess with the tourists more. I don't like how comfortable they're getting." He stood up. "Don't make me regret this, though. Want to see your room?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now! Will DT get a normal acting job? .... I think you know the answer to that.


End file.
